The Great British Sewing Bee and Gender Equality

I’m a late comer to the Great British Sewing Bee, having missed the last two year’s of programmes, but what I am seeing this year is filling me with the joy of a neatly fitting garment.

It’s great to see essential life skills being applauded on TV, rather than the shallow fame we are fed via The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent. Sewing is a skill that every parent should pass on to their child, and I’m pleased to say that my kids can sew their own cubs/scouts badges on to their shirts (I say they CAN, whether they DO or not is a different matter!).

The programme’s website has some handy tutorials for people inspired to go on and try it for themselves, making it accessible to beginners.

I’m also really (pleasantly) surprised by the gender balance in the programme. We’ve got 4 men and 6 women as contestants, and one of each as judges. This is great recognition by the BBC that sewing machines and haberdasheries (like the kitchen) are not the exclusive domain of women. There are some real stars across the board, so it is definitely not a case of the women overshadowing the men.

I’m really getting into this series, and it’s inspired me to get on with my sewing jobs, so get ready for some sewing related posts!